Current light-frame construction practices are tied to a serial building process with very little ability to optimize the timeline to erect a building or residence. The construction process starts with building the foundations and then the building frame. Once the building frame is complete, roof decking and roofing material, exterior sheathing (such as OSB or other engineered wood sheets), wiring, plumbing, and insulation, are added. Finally, the framed walls are closed typically by adding interior drywall, and the drywall is finished and made ready for painting by adding any desired finish texture. Moisture barriers on the exterior wall surfaces and exterior cladding or siding can be added anytime in this process after installation of exterior sheathing and roofing.
One of the problems associated with current light-frame construction practices is that the framing process requires a certain degree of on-site skilled labor. Framing together with installing exterior sheathing, adding wiring and insulation, and then installing interior wall sheeting such as drywall are time-consuming and require different trades. This all adds to the cost of construction. Another issue which arises in current light-frame construction is that forming individual framing members and sheeting pieces generates a significant amount of waste at the construction site in the form of framing material trimmings and trimmings from the exterior and interior sheeting material. All this waste material is typically combined with other construction waste in a roll-off container at the construction site and is commonly landfilled because such a combined waste stream is not readily recyclable.
There remains a need in the construction industry to address the inefficiencies and problems described above and others associated with current light-frame construction practices.